Neurological Assessments for Numbness and Tingling

Neurological Assessments
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Neurological Assessments
Neurological assessment evaluates the functions of the brain and the central nervous system. It helps a health provider in making a diagnosis and in management. Serious medical or neurological conditions can present with persistent or worsening numbing and tingling of a body part. Numbness and tingling could be caused by simple factors such as wrong sitting posture, which usually goes away with correcting posture. Proper history taking and description of symptoms can help the doctor understand the neurological problem and the extent and type of neurological damage (Fuller, 2019). Neurological assessment consists of several tests that examine the functions of central, peripheral, and autonomous systems (Fuller, 2019). These assessments range from the physical exams done within the consultation rooms to diagnostic and electro-diagnostic tests.
Physical and neurological assessments include a mental assessment of a patient, where simple questions to determine orientation, such as asking for the date, name, or simple current affairs, can help establish mental status. Coordination and balance can be assessed by telling a patient to draw an object, closing their eyes to check for static postural balance, or asking the patient to walk on a linear path. An abnormality in coordination and balance can help diagnose multiple sclerosis (Inojosa et al., 2020) or identify the region of the brain that is affected, like the cerebellar. Abnormalities in the reflexes and sensations by the brain or the spinal code. Assessment of the cranial nerves' functions is also crucial as they can be indicators of brain abnormalities and help diagnose tumors or stroke. Physical assessments help FHPs to make the most probable differential diagnoses and identify the origin of the problem. The neurological problem can be of mechanical origin, causing compression to the nerves, or pathological origin like multiple sclerosis, encephalitis, meningitis, Lyme disease, HIV/AIDS, or due to deficiencies of some essential nu...